Connemara

I cannot believe I've been in Ireland for nearly a month. Time needs to pump the brakes because I need more than two and a half more months in this green wonderland. This past weekend while most of our group was jet-setting through Europe (London, Copenhagen, and Munich), Caroline, Abby, Dennis, and I headed out on a day trip to Connemara and Cong. The bus tour took us to Kylemore Abbey where we walked around (in the rain, of course) the 1,000 acre estate. Included on the property is of course the impressively large castle that belonged to Mitchell Henry and his family in the late 1800's. We also walked through the Victorian Walled Garden and the Gothic Church that was built by Henry in remembrance of his wife, Margaret, following her death.

The bus ride to and from the Abbey was debatably even more impressive. Driving through desolate areas of huge fields of green, mountains of marble and again, green, as well as rivers flowing through the entire range and sheep everywhere you look. It was simply breathtaking. It was the quintessential Ireland, only five times more incredible.

For those of you who know me at all there are two things I simply can't live without: coffee and Chipotle. For all my coffee loving friends, I'd skip over this part if I were you. I think it's safe to say I have moved on from #teamcoffee and am officially a tea drinker (gasp). Yeah, I know, it's hard for me to get over too but you can do it. But seriously, I drink at least four cups a day and actually like it. They must slip something in the tea here because it actually tastes good. Maybe it's just an Irish thing? As for Chipotle, I found the Irish equivalent and it's giving Chipotle a run for it's money. Don't worry, I could never completely replace Chipotle like I did with coffee, but Boojums is definitely a sufficient substitute for the time being.

Now I just need to find some avocados. My brother found them and of course sent me a snapchat just to torture me. I'll have to make my way to Spain at some point just for the avocados, never mind seeing him. My mom on the other hand told me yesterday that she hasn't been able to eat a single one since I left because it just doesn't feel right. She must really love me! But really mom, no need for both of us to suffer.

The beautiful Irish fall weather we had since our arrival has officially passed. Now we're on to rain, rain, and more rain. Full week of classes and then off to Cork for our next excursion this weekend. Cheers from Galway!

Discovering Dublin

This weekend we set off on a 3 day excursion to Dublin. First up was Croke Park, the official stadium of the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association). Despite being 2 days away from the biggest game of the season, we got a private tour through the locker rooms and around the stadium. I'm not on top of my hurling and Gaelic football but the stadium was impressive no matter what sport you follow. About 4 times the size of an American football field, it seats around 80,000 fans. The best part was learning that all these nationally idolized athletes that compete on the field are amateurs. They have regular jobs during the week and receive no monetary compensation for their athletic performances. It is evident that this has fostered an incredible amount of sportsmanship among players and the sports played in this facility unite the while country.

The stadium

Group photo at Croke Park

Janine, me, Abby, and Caroline

The next stop was the National Museum of Ireland and the site of the Book of Kells. We were on a tight schedule so we were only there for a short period time but it was worth the stop.

After that our program took us to the Guinness Brewery. After a self guided tour through the 6 story factory, we reached the top where we were rewarded with a birds-eye view of Dublin and a pint of Guinness. I'm not about that beer milkshake life so it was my first and also my last Guinness.

Group photo at the Guinness Brewery

A drink with a view

Obligatory photo

I stayed in my first hostile, Kinlay House, while in Dublin. It was in a prime location, just a 5-10 minute walk from Temple Bar and Trinity. It's sad that my bed at the hostile was actually more comfortable than my bed at NUIG and there was more hot water too. The space was definitely limited with 6 of us in a room about the size of an elevator.

At Kinlay House: Aileen, me, Elizabeth, Kai, Caroline, and Abby (taking the picture)

Saturday started off with a walking tour of Dublin. Our tour guide, a lecturer from Trinity, threw a lot of information at us with little context. We didn't end up seeing as much of the city as we expected but luckily we had the afternoon free to explore on our own. After a third meal of PB&Js in the hostile, a group of 6 of us headed to the Jameson Distillery for our free afternoon. We had a guided history tour followed by a tasting. I'm no where near an expert but I definitely liked it better than the Guinness.

Ben, Caroline, Me, Kai, Abby, and Dennis at the Jameson Distillery

Jameson, ginger ale, and lime

Our day of scheduled events ended with a production of Borstol Boy at the Gaeity Theatre. After that, Caroline and I joined Ben and some friends studying abroad in Dublin for some pubbing and clubbing. After a fun night, we got to wake up bright and early to hit the road back to Galway. On the way, we stopped at Newgrange. I learned about this neolithic burial mound in a prehistoric archaeology class I took last fall so it was awesome to see it in real life. We also stopped at Clonmacnoise, an early Christian settlement, on our way home. Before the final hour on the road back to Galway we went to a small pub to watch the Gaelic football final between Kerry and Donegal. 

Newgrange 

Group photo at the entrance of Newgrange

Clonmacnoise

Me and Janine at Clonmacnoise 

Clonmacnoise

While Dublin is a booming city with a lot to enjoy, Galway remains my Irish city of choice (not solely because Dublin gave us our first Irish rain). After a busy weekend, we are ready for some rest, but nope! We've still got a full week of classes ahead of us. Today was registration day for international students. I am officially taking Castles, Crannogs, and Colonists, Applied Behavior Analysis, as well as the two courses specifically for our program: Irish Life and Culture and Irish in Sports. Water polo practice again tonight and hopefully Connemara on Friday. Cheers!

Aran Island Adventure

It was a busy week to say the least. This week we've all been embracing our obvious foreign selves while attempting to figure out where our classes are. I'm not used to a University campus. At Hobart it's 10 minutes from one place to another pretty much anywhere on campus. Here, it takes at least 15 just to walk to the University from our apartment let alone find the right buildings. Although, an Irish student did actually ask me for directions the other day which made me feel a little less American. Whether I gave her the right directions or not is another story. Though it's a university, there is gorgeous quad (below).

Called the "quadrangle"

On Saturday, we had our first excursion of the semester to the Aran Islands. We left early Saturday morning on a bus to a port where we then took a ferry to the Aran Island of Inishmore.

On the ferry (Danny, Caroline, Ben, Dennis, Me, Kai, Katelyn, and Maeve)

Lacking some basic childhood skills, I took a bus tour with two others while everyone else hopped on bikes to get to our desired location on the island.

Once we were all there, a guide led us to the top of Dun Aounghasa, a stone fort built during the Bronze Age. What an archaeological sight! From the top of the fort, you can see the ocean on either side as well as all the way down the 87 meter drop over the cliffs. I've never seen anything like it, absolutely breathtaking.

Kai, Me, and Caroline at the top in front of the fort

87 meter drop! Yikes!

The crew: Caroline, me, Abby, Kai, and Janine at the top

We have another packed week of figuring out classes as well as immigration appointments at the Garda to get our student visas (hopefully I don't get deported already). I also signed up to play for the club water polo team here which starts tonight. I'm super excited and nervously hoping my high school skills won't be too rusty. Then off to Dublin on Friday for our next excursion. Cheers!

1 Week In

Ireland has been absolutely grand and good craic so far. In American lingo that's great and fun. The past week has been a crazy one. We've been going, going, going since the moment we got here, but it's been amazing regardless. After several travel mishaps: a broken suitcase and a bad experience with security (there was a random pocket knife in my old suitcase that I was unaware of until a security agent searched by bag about 17 times), I arrived at the Shannon airport at 7am on a flight from Boston with 3 of the Union students. Once the group flight arrived 5 hours later, we took a bus to our apartment complex, Gort na Coiribe. I'm living in an apartment in a double with Caroline, also from HWS, as well as our three Irish roommates: Stephanie, Laura, and Jenna. They are all so nice and have been so welcoming to us. We really lucked out. It's very true what they say about the Irish, they are the nicest people. What they didn't say is that, believe it or not, the Irish are more obsessed with snapchat than Americans. I have so many random Irish snapchat friends now but I guess I have to get on their level somehow.

Thursday and Friday were devoted to orientation at NUIG. To be honest, it wasn't very helpful. Actually, it confused most of us even more. The registration process here is much different than in the states. Basically we have two weeks of trial classes that started yesterday. After that, we submit our paperwork. Right now I'm looking at taking Health Psychology and Applied Behavioral Analysis.

Other than that we have been spending all our time exploring the city of Galway. We are about a 15 minute walk to NUIG as well as to the city. We've been doing A LOT of walking. Like a lot. We've got blisters to prove it. On Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market and took a walking tour of the city. Sunday we went to a local pub called The Quays (pronounced keys) where we watched a big hurling match. I still have no idea what hurling is but the atmosphere was a lot of fun. Yesterday after some classes we walked along the bay and of course snapped plenty of pictures like the tourists we are. There's still a lot to get used to like cars driving on the other side of the road. I'm still at the point where I'm seeing dogs and kids driving cars. Weird sight. Also taking some time to get used to showers that only have hot water for like an hour in the morning and having to flip a switch to turn an outlet on.

Most days so far we have just been letting ourselves get lost in the city and seeing all it has to offer. It's a great place with a lot of life. I love the group of people in the program. We've been having the greatest time together hanging out, going to the city, going to pubs, cooking dinner together, and just having a blast. We're all still in vacation mode but hopefully that will switch once classes are in full force. It's only been a week and I already don't ever want to leave. If I'm having this much fun at this point, I can't wait to see what the rest of the semester will bring. I love Ireland!

Downtown Galway

Our first meal in the apartment

Life-changing donuts from the Farmer's Market

Part of our group after the walking tour by the Farmer's Market